Comments on: They Killed Flappy Bird, Didst Thou not Hear?http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855
Say Hello to the Voices in my HeadThu, 05 Feb 2015 00:25:40 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1By: Floramelhttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5262
Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:36:01 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5262Honestly, I never really felt any significant vibes from CoH’s flying – it was just a power that SOME toons got, but not all – I had one that did the power jump thing instead, another that did the floaty thing instead. Yes, there were mobs that would engage you if you floatythinged around too much, so “control” was in some way maintained. In WoW, you can fly over dangerous areas. In CoH, you would get shot down if you tried. And maybe that’s all that we need here.

The remaining problem is that it is like a genie in a bottle thing; once it gets out, they can’t put it back in comfortably. They have to resort to “you can’t fly here because ANCIENT MYSTICAL FIELD NO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE LAST ONE”.

]]>By: Yngwehttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5261
Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:25:44 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5261Admittedly, those were pretty silly reasons for restricting flying, but there are examples that work better. There are several elements that can make flying more exciting, and most of the ones I can think of come from City of Heroes. I mean, you can’t have a create-your-own superhero game without allowing people to fly. Those are: 1. big zones, designed in three dimensions (give people a reason to explore the air – see Nagrand); 2. danger at all levels (in CoH, it was flying mobs that patrolled areas, turrets that could do significant damage); 3. some forced claustrophobia (dense forests, caves, large buildings). Flying, or super-jumping (Yay!), was still the best way to get around, but flying was much more engaging than get on mount, bypass everything, do quest.

As for using flying as a gating mechanic, I think it worked well in TBC. There was still the sense of exploration and discovery following getting level-capped, and there were living, active areas that you could only get to by flying. I think that is one of the stronger reasons for having flying.

As you pointed out, Blizzard has never once been one for intelligently creating a three dimensional space or giving us a compelling, balanced mix of reasons to fly and to run. Point is, it could be done, but probably not in WoW.

]]>By: Floramelhttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5257
Tue, 18 Mar 2014 00:26:51 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5257I guess what I’m trying unsuccessfully to say is that I’m sorry that it might be necessary to lose something you like in my perverted views of the situation. It’s an imperfect MMO world, and mayhaps there are tradeoffs to be made.

I don’t really feel you need to worry about it though. Full-on removal of flight is, in my cynical opinion, simply beyond what Blizz is capable of doing.

]]>By: Mattyhttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5256
Tue, 18 Mar 2014 00:13:54 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5256I am curious and confused by your sympathy, although it is lovely – does this mean you’re working for Blizzard now and trying to let me down gently? LOL I am a grown-up, and know that some things that are fun aren’t good for me. I also know that flying alone won’t ‘save’ a game, and didn’t say that. I simply offered I love it. Having said that, I will offer I hope we players can at Level 100.
]]>By: Floramelhttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5254
Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:31:34 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5254Those are many excellent examples of how Blizz put thought into making flight a gating mechanism to keep the scrubs out of the business of those that had made it all the way to 70 and got their mounts.

I’m not entirely sure I buy the Wrath zones as having thought put into them vis-a-vis flight, though flying did make them less painful. Flight didn’t do anything to gate there – even sites inaccessable without it had alternate methods – Getting to Thorim or Ulduman, for example.

The problem I have with half-assed “reasons” is pretty clearly documented. If it’s so hard to suspend disbelief that I openly mock them, they’ve done a poor job. I always feel like I’m sitting across the table from a used car salesman. Nobody likes being played. Any reason for keeping flight in some form but not across the board has to be set in granite, firmly held and consistently enforced or it becomes another joke on somebody’s blogcast.

]]>By: Yngwehttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5253
Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:22:24 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5253I go back and forth on this one. There are places where flying was awesome and sometimes necessary. Like flying up to Skettis or Netherwing Ledge. The sky islands in Nagrand. That place to the North of Hellfire where the world boss sat. I actually think TBC did flying better than any of the following expansions (never actually flew in Pandaria, however). I also loved flying around Storm Peaks and Icecrown – those were large-scale zones that I feel were designed with flight in mind.

I think the best compromise would a mix of 1 and 3. Make some zones that are designed specifically for flight. Give people challenges that require them to get on their bird and explore the skies, or mountains, or whatever. Think up some lame excuse why people can’t fly in other zones (demonic haze over the land, patrols that shoot you down unmercifully, canons that blast you out of the sky, Deathwing’s cousin patrolling). If done right, you could even create flying “highway” where people could enjoy some limited flying in those zones. Maybe like an underwater breath gauge that runs out while flying, and you have to make it to a beacon to recharge.

]]>By: The Godmother (@AlternativeChat)http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5250
Sun, 16 Mar 2014 22:30:30 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5250Thank you :D
]]>By: Floramelhttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5249
Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:36:01 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5249I truly sympathize, and wish that it was possible for this thing to be possible without ruining the game. And if theyd figure out how to do proper flying zones, it would be no problem at all. Unfortunately, it isn’t. Even WoW isn’t so “theme park” that just flying around and being happy is enough to keep it running.

Lots of things are fun that aren’t good for you. Every now and then we trade off on that. Seems like the optimum would be “can’t fly in the expansion content, but you can in the old stuff that everyone wants to bypass anyway.” I have real doubts they can pull that off without creating more convolution than we already have.

]]>By: Mattyhttp://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/archives/1855#comment-5248
Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:52:32 +0000http://wowblog.grimmlabs.com/?p=1855#comment-5248I love flying. I can’t in the “real world,” and when I am soaring on a pretend dragon or fairy-winged creature, I feel amazing. Nothing to do with content, questing, or anything: I just love it. Can’t that be reason enough?
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